A system that makes patient records available instantly also would reduce medical errors, said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the bill's nearly 40 sponsors.

It would "bring a health care system really into the modern century through information and technology," Kennedy told reporters. "This can have a profound impact in terms of saving lives."

The bill passed the Senate on a voice vote. The House is considering two similar measures.

Dr. Deborah Peel, president of the watchdog group Patient Privacy Rights, complained that the bill doesn't include enough protections to keep personal information out of the hands of people who shouldn't have it — such as employers, who could use it to discriminate against employees and potential hires.

"There's no recognition of every American's fundamental right to make a decision as to who can see medical information about them," she said. "The point is that patients want to be asked."

Peel said patients should be allowed to "segment" their information — or request that some of it not be made electronic or that certain electronic files be shared only with a few people.

Kennedy and Enzi said their bill provides plenty of built-in protections.

About 10,000 Americans have already made their health records electronic and accessible anywhere via the Internet with a free online service. And 60 people have had computer chips implanted into their arms to provide access to their electronic medial records, according VeriChip Corp., a Delray Beach, Fla., company that received Food and Drug Administration approval last year to market the chips.

Doctors have been slow to join the digital revolution. A Rand Corp. study published this year found that as of 2002 only between 10 percent and 16.4 percent of the nation's physicians had adopted electronic medical record technology.